Dear JJ,

Happy New Year from the Oregon Music Education Association! Click here to visit our website.

The following email includes OMEA's January News.

Make sure to Click View entire Message at the bottom to see all of the content.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Eugene!  

Teachers, don't forget, you have FREE admission to ALL OMEA All-State concerts - simply show your OMEA conference badge. You also may watch the All-State ensembles in rehearsal and get PDU hours! 

• Friday evening: Middle School Band, Choirs, and Orchestra
• Saturday at 5 pm: High School Jazz Band, Elementary Choir
• Sunday afternoon & evening: High School Bands, Choirs, and Orchestra

Teachers, Students, and Parents may access OMEA All-State information online at  oregonmea.org/all-state/event-information/

All-State Information documents available here: Elementary School Information, Middle School Information, High School Information

• 2025 OMEA All-State Ensemble Conductors & Repertoire
• 2025 All-State Rehearsal Schedule 
• 2025 Concert Photography Order Form – from Musical Memories
• 2025 Concert CD & DVD Ordering Form – from Soundwaves

Teachers of All-State students must register and pay for the full OMEA Conference, per OMEA policy. We look forward to seeing you in Eugene, and don't forget, with your conference badge you have free admission to all of the OMEA All-State concerts!

Kristi Stingle

OMEA All-State Chair

allstatechair@gmail.com

Guidebook

The 2025 OMEA Conference, Resonance, is just 1 week away! Download Guidebook now to explore all that this year's conference has to offer. 

Instrument

Several sessions in each track include audience participation. Bring your primary instrument - or for elementary folks, your recorders - to make the most of your conference experience!

New this year - Pay to Park

The Graduate is now known as The Graduate by Hilton. In this transition, parking is no longer free under the hotel. Parking is now $15 a day.

Presiding

Are you interested in presiding over a session? If so, please email Elizabeth Soper.

Information on presiding can be found by clicking here.

Dine-Arounds

Don't have lunch plans yet? Consider joining us for a Dine Around informal lunch on Friday and Saturday with fellow educators. Each Dine Around has a specific affinity group. Learn more and sign-up for a Dine-Around on our Guidebook app.

While the Dine-Arounds are free to attend, you are responsible for your own food and drinks. 

Elizabeth Soper

OMEA Conference Chair

omeaconferencechair@gmail.com

Deb Confredo, NAfME President

Dr. Confredo is a professor of music education and the director of online graduate programs in music education at the Boyer College. In addition to numerous published articles on music education, pedagogy and research, Confredo is an instrumental editor, arranger, author and consultant for the FJH Music Company. A 42-year veteran music educator who has taught at both the elementary and secondary levels, she is in constant demand as a clinician, adjudicator, guest conductor and lecturer across the nation.

Joe Dyvig, NAfME Northwest Division President-Elect

Joe Dyvig is currently the orchestra teacher at Olympia High School, as well as the Music and Visual Arts coordinator for the Olympia School District in Olympia, Washington. Prior teaching assignments include Band, Jazz, and Orchestra in the Northshore School District, Ferndale School District, and Monroe Public Schools. 

PROJECT Trio will be this year's banquet entertainment! They are a dynamic and innovative music group known for their genre-blending performances and captivating stage presence. The trio pushes the boundaries of traditional chamber music with their unique fusion of classical, jazz, hip-hop, and world music influences.

Keynote Speaker: Peter Boonshaft!

Dr. Boonshaft is the author of the critically acclaimed best-selling books Teaching Music with Passion, Teaching Music with Purpose, and Teaching Music with Promise.  He is also co-author of Alfred Music Publishing’s method book series Sound Innovations.  As well, his weekly “Boonshaft’s Blog” for music educators continues to inspire teachers everywhere. He was on the faculty of Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, where he is Professor Emeritus of Music.

This February the All-Northwest Conference will be held in Spokane from the 13th - 16th.

There are All-NW rates available through January 14th at these hotels:

The Davenport Grand

The Centennial Hotel

Click here for the conference website.

Direct any All-Northwest questions to Scott.Ketron@wmea.org.

We are very fortunate to have two extremely qualified candidates who have stepped forward for the January election. An electronic ballot will be mailed to all OMEA members on December 15, voting closes at 11:59pm on January 18.

Click here to cast your vote!

Cory Francis is the Associate Director of Bands at West Salem High School in Salem, Oregon. He has his B.M.E. from the University of Oregon. Cory is the current OMEA District 4 Co-Band Chair. He oversees the District 4 Band Festival and Solo and Ensemble, and teaches sectionals for Salem-Keizer All-City Concert and Jazz Bands. 

Born and raised in Oregon, Cory taught two years of band, choir, and percussion at Banks Middle and High School before moving to Lincoln City to teach jazz band, concert band, and choir at Taft 7-12. In Lincoln City. Cory served as a board member for the Oregon Coast Youth Symphony Festival and Music Is Instrumental which brought new instruments, clinicians, and performance opportunities to students on the Oregon Coast. Cory is currently teaching at West Salem High School where he instructs the concert bands, jazz bands, marching band, and music in special education. 

Cory has been involved with organizing the OMEA Conference for the last three years–serving as Co-Manager for the All-State Jazz Band since 2023. He is eager to serve the state as 2nd VP and 2027 OMEA All-State Conference Chair. If elected, he plans to focus his vision on resources for new teachers and advocacy for small school music programs–elevating the voices of all music educators across Oregon. Please consider him at our upcoming OMEA election!

Hannah Abercrombie is an enthusiastic and dedicated music educator in her 2nd year as the Director of Choirs at McKay High School in Salem, Oregon, where she directs four choirs, the nationally acclaimed a cappella group, Scots-Appella, and is the assistant director of the McKay Marching Band. 

After receiving her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Oregon, Hannah started her career at Douglas High School in Winston, Oregon, where she taught band and choir for six years. During her time in southern Oregon, she led her bands and choirs to top placings in state championships, revived the marching band and color guard after a 30-year hiatus, planned, coordinated, and hosted district competitions and honor events, and served as Vice President for OMEA District 10.

Hannah is excited at the chance to be a part of the OMEA leadership team and is eager to seek out inspiring experiences and opportunities to further enrich music educators in Oregon. She wants to ensure that the OMEA Conference experience is revitalizing and worthwhile for educators of all ages, backgrounds, and specialties.

Outside of work, Hannah loves spending time with her fiancé, Andrew, and snuggling with her two kitties, Meelo and Momo. She has enjoyed getting to teach in her hometown of Salem and feels grateful to be in such an amazing community of people and music.

If you need to renew your OMEA/NAfME membership, please do that sooner than later. Please click here to renew!

Your conference registration is much less expensive to OMEA/NAfME members.

Aaron Marshall of Idaho and Chad Rose of Wyoming are candidates for NAfME Northwest's President-Elect position. Voting opens on January 14th!

2025 PSU Music Tech Ed Workshop

Have you been considering teaching Music Technology in your school? Have you been asked to teach Music Technology, but don't know where to start? Attend this FREE workshop to learn about Digital Audio Workstations (Soundtrap for Education and Ableton Live), basic recording skills, and get ideas for curriculum. Space is limited!  Sign up at this link.

Presenters include: 

• Caroline Miller, Sonic Arts, PSU
• Mari Schay, Music Education, PSU
• Jake Kelly, Recording Technologies, PCC Cascade
• Jason Rodgers, Digital Audio Production, Woodburn High School

Saturday, February 1, 2025

9:00am-3:00pm

Portland State University Lincoln Hall

Jason Rodgers

OMEA Secondary General Music Chair

jrodgers@woodburnsd.org

OMEA has a new, future-focused Mission and Vision statement along with a set of Core Beliefs that will guide our Strategic Planning for the foreseeable future. Many thanks to those who gave feedback in our Strategic Planning Survey, as well as members of the board who took the time over the summer to create these statements of accountability and purpose. 

MISSION: OMEA supports music educators and advocates for equitable access to a high-quality and comprehensive music education for all students in Oregon. 

VISION: OMEA will serve as the trusted source for music advocacy in Oregon and will strive to increase the quality and accessibility of music education in our state. 

Please click here to read OMEA's Strategic Plan in full.

The Executive Board took the time over the summer to edit and streamline OMEA's Policies and Procedures document. The Board of Control approved changes in September.

Please click here to read OMEA's Policies and Procedures.

40th Annual Music In Our Schools Month® 

Get ready to celebrate! March 2025 is the 40th annual Music In Our Schools Month®, a huge national-level advocacy event celebrating school music programs. This year’s theme is United Through Music.  NAfME will be releasing a toolkit, activities, and social media graphics to share as we get closer to March.  Keep your ears open from advocacy actions from OMEA leading up to and during March.  

ACTION ITEM: Reach out to your School Board NOW to get a spot on the speaking docket for March. This process can take a while so start the wheels turning ASAP. Think about the story you’d like board members to hear, and engage with students and parents to highlight as many voices as possible.

NAfME Advocacy

• The NAfME Advocacy and Public Policy team recorded a presentation on how to utilize the new U.S. Dept. of Education guidance on federal funding and arts education. 

• Read the a recently released blog regarding the same topic.

NAfME Professional Learning

Looking for more professional development opportunities? See all of the NAfME webinars on their Professional Learning Calendar.  

LINKS

• OMEA Advocacy
• Advocacy Resources 
• Program Standards for Music in Oregon Schools



Need advocacy support? Contact advocacy@oregonmea.org

We are the Oregon Music Educators Equity professional learning community! If you have a brilliant resource, song, approach, or idea that you want to share with other music educators, please share it here.

Cynthia Navarro

OMEA DEI Co-Chair

navarro16@gresham.k12.or.us

Amanda Sarles

OMEA DEI Co-Chair

asarles@siuslaw.k12.or.us

Kathy Briggs

OMEA Choir Chair

kathy.briggs@smapdx.org

www.oracda.net

If you teach Orchestra in Oregon and did not get an email from me on January 6th (“Orchestra Business”), please let me know who you are, where you teach, and your professional email address!

I’ll see you in Eugene next week:

Social to follow the MS All-State Orchestra Concert at BJ’s.

Let’s show up for the student performers from South Salem and Corvallis on Saturday morning!

Bring an instrument for our reading session on Saturday, and topics for discussion at our roundtable.

Let’s have some fun with friends and colleagues!

Brigid Mayer

OMEA Orchestra Chair

mayer_brigid@salkeiz.k12.or.us

www.orasta.org

Jen Bell

OMEA Band Chair

BELL_JENNIFER@salkeiz.k12.or.us

https://www.oregonbda.org/

I am excited to announce that acclaimed saxophonist and jazz educator Steve Treseler will be joining us at the 2025 OMEA Conference in Eugene, OR. Traveling from Seattle, WA, Steve will bring his expertise to the jazz content area with a series of dynamic sessions.

Steve Treseler has built a reputation as a versatile performer and dedicated educator. Known for his rich sound and improvisational mastery, Steve has performed with jazz luminaries and recorded widely. He currently teaches jazz studies at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle and regularly leads workshops worldwide, focusing on creativity, musicality, and developing individual artistic voices. Steve is the founder of Infinite Improvisation, offering educational workshops, instructional books, and digital media.

During the conference, Steve will present several engaging sessions, including:

• Saturday, January 18 at 9:00 AM: Jazz Repertoire and Improvisation by Ear – A hands-on session with students from the All State Jazz Band, focusing on techniques for improvisation and developing a strong musical ear.
• Saturday, January 18 at 1:00 PM: New and Diverse Jazz Ensemble Repertoire for Middle School through College presented by Jessika Smith – Steve will perform with the repertoire reading band, sponsored by Brava Jazz Publishing, offering an exciting opportunity to hear fresh new jazz charts, exclusively composed and arranged by women and non-binary composers.
• Saturday, January 18 at 2:00 PM: Creative Ways to Teach Improvisation in Large Ensembles– Steve will share effective strategies for fostering improvisational skills in large ensemble settings, a crucial skill for directors and teachers.

These sessions promise to provide valuable tools for jazz educators and students, helping to build stronger, more improvisationally fluent musicians. Whether you're looking to enhance your own teaching or deepen your students’ understanding of jazz, Steve’s presentations are not to be missed.

In addition to Steve’s contributions, we’re proud to have representatives from several local colleges and universities also presenting at the conference. Join us to hear from Ken Mastrogiovanni and Joe Manis from the University of Oregon, Nathaneal Ankeny from George Fox University, and Doug Doerfert from Lane Community College, who will be sharing their expertise and insights across a variety of jazz topics. Their presence highlights the vibrant and diverse jazz community in the Pacific Northwest and ensures that this year’s conference will be rich with local knowledge and talent.

Lastly, please join us for a jazz social hosted by Dan Davey on Friday 1/17 at 6:00pm right across the street from the Graduate at the 6th Street Grill. This is a welcoming space where any experience of jazz educator can come to ask questions and make connections.

I look forward to seeing you in Eugene!

Jessika Smith

OMEA Jazz Chair

jessika_smith@parkrose.k12.or.us 

Small Schools Music Educators!

Please find us on Facebook by clicking here.

Excitingly, NAfME has recently put together a Small Schools Initiative. The website for this initiative is full of useful videos and information provided by small schools music educators from around the country. You can find those resources by clicking here.

We all share a wonderful and sometimes challenging job. As such, we truly are one another’s best resources. From first-year teachers to established veterans, connection is key to our success! If I can be of any assistance to you this year, please feel free to reach out to me at any time. I am always thrilled to hear from other small schools music teachers.

Best wishes for a great year!

Melissa Jmaeff

OMEA Small Schools Chair

melissa.jmaeff@sutherlin.k12.or.us

Please click here to access OMEA publications. Issuu will now archive all OMEA publications dating back to 1948. These older editions will be posted as access becomes available for scanning.

Please contact JJ Sutton if you are interested in submitting an article for future publications.

A Tri-M® Music Honor Society chapter opens up a world of opportunities for students who have already shown themselves to be academically capable and musically gifted. Through performance and community service, they’ll develop confidence, creativity, critical thinking, compassion, and a host of other leadership skills sure to serve them well in school and beyond.

Click here to apply!

Click here to access NFHS publications and e-newsletter subscriptions.

Follow OMEA on Instagram at "oregonmusiceducation."

You can also follow OMEA on Facebook by liking "Oregon Music Education Association."

OMEA social media is a great way to receive news and updates in real time!

Bandworld features the American Band College of Central Washington University and WIBC hosted annually in the fall in SeaTac.

Enjoy exceptional chamber music with Chamber Music Northwest's digital concerts available virtually at CMNW.org and live concerts in Portland, OR.

The Columbians Drum & Bugle Corps is a 501c3 non-profit organization serving the youth in the Tri-Cities, Washington, and surrounding areas.

Since 1750, Conn Selmer is the largest manufacturer and importer of band and orchestral instruments for students, amateurs, and professionals of all genres.

Students will have unique performance opportunities, music and theater clinics from industry professionals and by attending great shows.

Eugene Symphony is a professional orchestra performing classical, symphonic, and live music in Eugene, OR.

Delivering music since 1876. JW Pepper ® is your sheet music store for band, orchestra and choral music, piano sheet music, worship songs, songbooks and more.

Music education programs offering orchestra, band and jazz in Portland, Oregon. Celebrating our 50th anniversary!



Quality professional development in the Feierabend curricula in a fun, interactive way, so teachers can spend their time teaching.

Nova Music International offers services in music publishing, education, administration, summer camps, and events (workshops, guest conducting, clinics, adjudication, and festival management).  

The Oregon Ambassadors of Music continues to provide meaningful cultural experiences and extraordinary performance opportunities. Outstanding students from all over Oregon prepare music to perform in select cities throughout Europe.

The Oregon Children's Choir has served kids in Lane County for over 40 years. We offer excellent singing opportunities for kids in 1st through 12th grade.

The Festival is an outgrowth of ideas that formed in the Newport Symphony’s board and the Festival’s artistic leadership comes from the Music Director Adam Flatt.

Peripole is the exclusive dealers for Peripole® Halo® Recorders, Bergerault® Orff Instruments, Peripole® Percussion and the NEW Peripole® Classic™ Ukulele by Enya.

Celebrate Portland’s most dedicated young musicians as they perform both classical favorites and rarely heard works, bringing an unrivaled energy to each piece.

Quartet Violins specializes in violin, viola, cello, and bass rentals and sales. We are dedicated to providing quality instruments in great condition at an affordable price.

Southern Oregon University Music Program offers bachelor of music degrees, graduate programs focused on music performance & music education degrees.

 The music program offers a Bachelor of arts in music with 4 tracks: In all four, the liberal arts core curriculum is complemented by a deep study of music in applied private lessons, ensembles and the classroom.

We specialize in repairs, sales, and rentals of band and orchestra instruments. We also offer sales, setups, and repairs on fretted instruments such as guitars, ukuleles, and bass guitars.